Marseilles fever
- noun
- Archaic
:
fiebre de Marsella
- Marseilles fever is an infectious disease caused by a tick that often lives on dogs in the Mediterranean region.
Examples
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Ticks that transmit Marseilles fever often live on domestic dogs in affected regions.
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The doctor explained that the patient’s symptoms matched those of Marseilles fever.
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Marseilles fever is prevalent in some areas near the Mediterranean Sea.
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Many travelers to India should be aware of Marseilles fever.
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Doctors are concerned about the rise in Marseilles fevers this year.
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The symptoms of Marseilles fever include high fever and rash, which are usually seen in affected patients.
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To prevent Marseilles fever, it is important to avoid areas where tick infections are common.
Synonyms
A disease spread by bites from infected ticks, causing fever and other illness
A disease caused by tiny germs that spreads to people from reddish-brown ticks on dogs and other animals
A disease spread by tick bites that causes fever and a spotted rash
An illness people get when ticks, mites, or lice spread tiny germs
An illness caused by bacteria spread by bites from ticks, mites, or lice
An illness spread by tick bites that causes fever and body aches
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound follows a common place-name + disease pattern so a learner who knows 'Marseilles' and 'fever' will readily infer it denotes a fever or disease associated with Marseilles/the surrounding region. Specific etiological details (tick-borne rickettsia) are not predictable from the words, but the basic meaning as a locality-associated illness is transparently derivable.
Etymology
Marseilles fever may come from the French city of Marseille, where doctors first saw people with a strange 'fever' after being bitten by small 'ticks' that live on dogs. That's why the name now means the 'disease' caused by those tick bites in areas around the Mediterranean.
